Slave Branding...

*15 days till the end of the task period.*

"But why do you call them the Eastern and Western beliefs?" Jewel asked in confusion, "Could it be that it has developed in the eastern and western parts of the new planet?"

"It's not like that." Even when Aiden explained to Jewel, he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed, "It's because of Earth. I don't know, but the professor said there were two continents, the eastern one is Aisa, and the western one is named Eporue."

"Oh!" Jewel nodded in confirmation.

"In the eastern continent, people used their lower dantian to store their energy. Whereas in the western continent, they use their heart to store, hence the Arcana heart."

Jewel was listening like a sponge, not missing a single word. As Aiden finished, Jewel asked with care, "If it is not a military secret, can you tell me how to cultivate mana?"

'Well, that's what I expected a long time ago.' Still, when Jewel asked him straight out, Aiden couldn't hold on to his smile. Looking at Aiden's smile, Jewel couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.

"It's a secret, but it's not a military one." Aiden said smiling, "I can tell you, but that will not be a problem, but..."

'As long as he wants to trade...' Thinking about it, Jewel was relieved. However, he chose not to ask anything about it. He said, "Let's go in first."

Aiden looked up to find himself in front of the same warehouse. They kept the slaves at this place. Compared to the bright outside, inside was dark, even though mana crystals have lightened the place.

As soon as he stepped inside, the temperature dropped, and hundreds of eyes turned toward him. He had the same feeling when he entered Irupax.

All the hair on his body was standing, but he wasn't sure it was fear or anything else. His hand took hold of the hilt of his blade, and...

"Calm down." When Jewel called him again, he let go of the breath that was stuck in his throat. "There's nothing to worry about. Come with me."

Even Jewel's confirmation didn't help. Aiden raised his senses as he walked deep into the building. The first thing he noticed was that they stacked the cages one above the other, and none of them was empty.

Humans, animals, and mutants had filled up all of them. It was like a giant library, a slave library. Yet Jewel had acted that it was nothing.

"It must be uncomfortable," Jewel said with an apologizing smile.

'Can you even smile at a place like this? 'Aiden wanted to ask, but he decided against it. "Where have you caught them?"

Seeing that Aiden was interested, Jewel said, "Do you think this is the only human settlement?"

'Isn't it?' Aiden was about to say, but when he thought about it, he couldn't help but frown.

'There were nearly 23 billion people before the apocalypse. Even if only 10% of it survived, it will be about 2.3 billion. More people are bound to be here.

"Have you thought only 70,000 people have survived in the entire continent of South Acirema?" Looking at Aiden's obvious expression, Jewel couldn't hide his astonishment, "Did you bluff about the western mountain without knowing it?"

*AAahhhhhhhh*

Before Aiden could answer, a bone-chilling cry resounded through the closed space. And it was followed by a chorus of angry shouts, barking and howling. Aiden couldn't help but frown as if it was too unbearable for his ears.

Jewel ran inside without a word, and Aiden followed. As soon as they reached the intended place, Aiden could not help but sucked a lung full of cold air.

Not only men and women, but there was also a child, and all their limbs were chained to the wall. There was no single string on their body. Aiden did not understand whether they were shuddering for fear or cold.

The stench was strong in this place. The faeces and piss had produced a nasty smell, and the stench of blood had made it more insufferable for Aiden.

But Aiden couldn't help but stare at Kaiser. He held a rod with a large cube attached to one end of it. He pressed it down on a man's chest. He removed it from the man's chest as they approached.

'Is it a branding iron?' This place was bright enough, but Aiden could not see any mark left by the branding of iron.

"What are you doing here?" The words of Kaiser woke him up. Aiden had realized that he was staring at the unconscious slaves.

"He is here to see," Jewel answered for him.

"There is nothing wonderful here." Kaiser's voice was sorrowful.

Yet Aiden ignored him, "What are you doing?"

"He is branding slaves.?"

"Branding? Like a blood tattoo?"

He was waiting for Aiden to show interest in something. He thought as long as Aiden wanted something, he could exchange it for the knowledge of unknown world magic.

"Yes, blood tattoo. Would you like to see?" Jewel didn't wait for Aiden to answer, "Kaiser, do another one."

Looking at Aiden, Kaiser couldn't help but sigh. In the next moment, Kaiser moved to another slave. There were a few workers who helped him to hold down the struggling slave.

Kaiser opened the cube part of the branding iron and put a small stone-like thing inside.

"Is that a mana crystal?"

"Yes." Jewel said, "It is blood mana crystal."

"Blood mana crystal? Isn't there only four types of mana crystal?"

It confused Aiden. He knew from what he had learned that there were four types of mana crystal. Earth, fire, water and wind. But…

"Are you talking about the basic four-element?" Seeing Aiden nod, Jewel continued, "If there were only four elements, then how do you explain ice crystal or thunder crystal?"

Yes, he had heard about those rare mana crystals, but blood is not an element at all. Now that he was thinking about it, he remembered that Adi had said the element of the devil was death. 'Does that mean it was mana, too?'

As he contemplated the theory of mana, Kaiser closed the cube and placed a few drops of his blood on the surface. After it dyed the surface red, he pressed it on the slave's chest.

"After absorbing the blood, the blood crystal will activate and will imprint the heart of the slave. He will be his slave, as it was Kaiser's blood."

"Will a slave like that sell?" Aiden was curious. Remi had told him that they were using shackles or collars on the unsold slave, but now that they were branding them, Aiden was a little confused.

"We will not be selling them." Jewel sighed as he spoke.

"Why?" asked Aiden, "If a slave trader doesn't sell a slave what will you do?"

"We will mine mana crystals. For that, we would need slaves." It looked like losing slaves for this purpose was paining Jewel, but he couldn't help it.

Aiden, on the other hand, was very interested. "Have you got a mine?"

Only then did Jewel understand that he had let something slip out of his lips, he wasn't supposed to. "No, I do not."

'Why are all of you hiding it?' Aiden wanted to know, but a loud cry attracted him.

He found that branding iron was burning red. As Kaiser pressed it down on his chest, the slave's struggles became more intense. But it soon lost the glow, and the slave lost consciousness.

Then again, looking at the slave, he couldn't find a blood tattoo on his body. But before he could quench his curiosity, the slave who had previously been branded had a spasm.

Even though his hands and legs were tied, he was moving violently with no control over his body. His eyes were still closed, and he showed no sign of waking up.

But soon blood came out of all his mouth, and he coughed out some blood. At the next moment, Aiden saw an extrinsic tattoo formed on his left shoulder.

"The branding is now complete." Jewel said, "The branding is a dangerous process. There are many instances where the unconscious slave doesn't even wake up."

Aiden was still staring at him, not saying a word. 'Now he can't even die on his wish.' Aiden couldn't help but sigh in his heart, as the restless silence followed.